A Sea of Opportunity

Lyndsey Tanabe ’16 Earns Ernest F. Hollings Scholarship From NOAA

by Christine Dugan

Dickinson biology major Lyndsey Tanabe ’16 has a passion for the ocean and all that lies beneath, undiscovered. That passion has been rewarded with an Ernest F. Hollings Scholarship from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). Tanabe was one of 106 students nationwide to successfully meet the competitive requirements.

The Hollings Scholarship program provides successful undergraduate applicants with academic awards of up to $8,000 per school year for up to two years and a 10-week, full-time paid summer internship at an NOAA facility. The internship, which will take place next summer, provides hands-on experience in NOAA-related science, research, technology, policy management and education activities. Awards also include travel funds to attend NOAA’s scholarship program orientation, conferences where students present a paper or poster and a housing subsidy during the internship.

The scholarship program is designed to increase undergraduate training in oceanic and atmospheric science, research, technology and education, preparing students for public-service careers with NOAA, natural resource and science agencies and for careers as teachers and educators to improve scientific and environmental education in the U.S.

The scholarship is named in honor of longtime South Carolina Senator Ernest F. Hollings, who served in Congress for 36 years. Hollings was instrumental in the creation of NOAA and was an advocate in creating legislation designed to protect the world’s oceans.

In the fall, Tanabe will be studying marine resource management studies at the School for Field Studies in the Turks and Caicos Islands. Dickinson students who study abroad with this partner program have the opportunity to conduct field research that helps to provide local government, community and tourism developers with recommendations to sustain the traditional fishing economy and minimize the environmental consequences of the growing leisure industry on the terrestrial and marine environments of the South Caicos.